Today we face a climate of ever increasing misdirection by popular media. This site, along with others, aims to reveal the reality of America and the loss of fact inherent to the over riding theme of our current political and social confusion: Purposeful deception.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

'Teachers Want Corporate America Assessed'

It has been
more than a week ago since I stood in Times Square
penned in behind barricaded fences in a sea of tens of thousands protesters at
the Occupy Wall Street rally. As an education blogger, I was on the lookout for
teachers when I saw a man with a large yellow sign that read, “Teachers Want Corporate America Assessed.”
In the past year, three newly established grassroots education movements
have been organized as parents, teachers, and citizens begin to focus on ending
the reign of terror in schools. The fight, however, is just beginning. (Image:
Schools Matter)

The message
was loud and clear -- it is time for educators to turn the table on the
corporations and politicians and begin evaluating, measuring and assessing
their performance. Here are some well-known statistics: 25 million people are
out of work or underemployed, 50 million people have no access to health
insurance and one in five children in the U.S. is living in poverty, with four
of every ten black children living in poverty. Everyone but the wealthy has
become part of corporate America's
collateral damage, and the country appears poised on the brink of calamity. So
far the protests have been relatively peaceful, but unless the deep and
widespread concerns jar loose some real change, if history is any guide, the
anger and outrage will not remained contained.

Despite the
potential consequences of joining in the protests (like being fired), teachers
are also standing up and participating in the OWS movement. Teachers have
finally had enough. After years of blame for students’ low test scores in a
country that has no accountability for the perpetrators of endless wars and the
economic meltdown that make teaching evermore challenging, teachers are
beginning to loudly call out those in power and to reclaim their voices that
have been muffled by years of threats and sanctions.

Since its
inception in 2002, teachers have known that No Child Left Behind was bad
policy, but no one was listening or even cared. In fact, anyone who voiced
opposition was accused of engaging the “bigotry of low expectations,” even
though today’s officialdom now acknowledges the criticism of impossible testing
targets was, in fact, true.

Narrowing of curriculum so that
disadvantaged children who most need enrichment would be denied lessons in
social studies, the sciences, the arts and music, even recess and
exercise, so that every available minute of the school day could be
devoted to drill for tests of basic skills in math and reading;

Demoralization of the best teachers,
now prohibited from engaging children in discovery and instead required to
follow pre-set instructional scripts aligned with low-quality tests;

Boredom and terror among young
children who no longer looked forward to school but instead anticipated
another day of rote exercises and practice testing designed to increase
scores by a point or two.

What a
difference a few years makes. OWS has catalyzed a long overdue conversation
about the abuses of corporate power and, it is the spark that has also ignited
the pent-up anger and frustration brewing in the education community for a
decade. The pushback against corporate abuse in all areas of our lives,
including education, is well underway and gaining momentum.

In the past
year, three newly established grassroots education movements have been
organized as parents, teachers, and citizens begin to focus on ending the reign
of terror in schools. Save Our Schools and National
Call to Action held a Rally and Conference in Washington over the summer and is now a
national organization with chapters in more than 30 states. Parents Across America and United Opt Out National are
gaining traction by shining a spotlight on legislation, generating excitement
and political action, and keeping a close watch on the education policy
positions of candidates running in local school boards and all the way to
Congress. What they all have in common is a passion for child advocacy and for
authentic learning that strengthens our democracy.

This
translates into their core demands to end the abuse and misuse of high stakes
testing and to return to well-rounded curriculums and community control over
local schools. These are only three of many organized political groups
providing a platform for the millions of Americans who see how the unrestrained
greed of corporations has hijacked the country and our political leaders.

These
patriotic citizens are passionate and determined, not because of self-interest,
but because they understand that the destruction of a sound public education
system is a direct assault on democracy itself. They want their country back,
they want their professional lives back, and they want their schools back.
Parents are joining to support teachers because they see how the test and
punish model is aimed at indoctrinating their children into becoming mindless,
obedient corporate citizens and consumers. Parents are tired of seeing their
children humiliated and used as guinea pigs, measured, assessed, and labeled as
early as kindergarten. And teachers with a conscience that their professional
integrity demands are no longer willing to mindlessly execute orders from
powerful moneyed interests that are harmful to their students and their
profession.

Amidst all
the chattering on TV about education reform, teachers are hard at work each day
in overcrowded, dilapidated classrooms with meager supplies and budgets. Many
teach in classrooms with hungry, anxious students who lack health care and safe
neighborhoods. Other teachers are seeing more homeless students whose parents
lost jobs or have been deported because they came here illegally. Teachers will
continue to teach children who might have one or both parents overseas fighting
in Afghanistan.
Despite all this, teachers continue to do whatever is necessary to care for
their students. Teachers now find themselves as the last line of defense
in the battle for the souls of our nation's children.

That's why
teachers will continue to occupy Wall Street and Washington,
Trenton and Oakland,
Knoxville and Raleigh, as they turn the tables and demand
accountability for the crimes against children being committed in the name of
education reform. They are finally standing up to the bullies. As Congress
debates No Child Left Behind and the future role of the federal government in
education, this time around teachers and parents are no longer going to be
silent, sitting on the sidelines. They are going to be marching in the streets,
protesting, calling their congressmen and senators and making their voices
heard. Teachers are finally demanding the freedom to teach and the professional
autonomy and respect that they deserve.

We can do
better! Join one of the many organizations fighting for the future of our
children and our nation. Go to their websites, make a donation, and get
involved.

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